This invention pertains to a method for manufacturing porous, irregularly-shaped particles having high surface areas by utilization of a liquid stabilized plasma gun device.
There exists in some industries a requirement that a material to be used in a particular process or apparatus be available in particle form having a high surface area and of a size that gives the material a substantially free-flowing property. For example, in those industries that utilize catalysts to speed reactions, it is desirable that the catalyst have as large a surface area as possible since the accelerating effect of the catalyst on the reaction is generally directly proportional to the surface area thereof.
As used herein, the term catalyst is defined as a substance or species which is not consumed in a reaction, but whose presence provides an alternate, low-activation-energy mechanism for the reaction. Typical examples of catalysts are platinum, palladium, and nickel.
A disadvantage with some processes or apparatuses used in producing particles is their inefficiency in manufacturing particles having requisite surface areas and sizes. In manufacturing desired catalytic particles, an undesirable amount of the catalytic material is lost or consumed by the process or apparatus. Consequently, an inordinate amount of catalytic material is required to manufacture a specified smaller amount of catalytic particles. This inefficiency in manufacturing naturally translates into higher production costs and a more expensive product.